Hume of the Week
Following this statement from history-challenged and (thankfully) outgoing MP Steve Gibbons, I can only hope that everyone keeps Mr Hume’s comment in mind:
It is seldom, that liberty of any kind is lost all at once.
Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary (1741) Essay 2 : Of the Liberty of the Press
What is so depressing is the ease with which free speech is being eroded. It highlights more than ever how a lack of historical awareness allows unethical or ineffectual government an easy ride.
When you don’t have history as a guide, it allows rationalising rhetoric to hide the fact that a political argument is bullshit. But an historical awareness provides precisely the corrective needed: example to the contrary.
With history, discipline on government. With history, scepticism of nonsense. With history, motive to action.
No better argument for a rigorous historical curriculum.
-
Hume of the Week – What Seems, Isn’t
No surprise Hume is up there as my favourite thinker. In short, bullshit leads to bad things. -
Hume of the Week – Factions
Hume's 1741 view on faction fits nicely with contemporary intra-political party issues, and with concerns about the members of the political class.